So it's the big 4-0 for my husband and he insists on a whole grain cake. The concept is something that goes against every fiber of my being. Don't get me wrong, I'm as healthy as they come. I eat whole grains daily with every meal, but in a cake??? Cakes are for special occasions and are meant to be enjoyed. They should be decadent and invoke guilt after consumption. A whole grain cake??

As this is an important birthday (he has been reminding me for the past 6 months that he will be 40), I relent. I embarked upon my quest by google-ing "whole grain cake" . My hope was that I might find a few examples of whole grain cake recipes to inspire my masterpiece. That proved to be a dead end. It seems that whole grain cakes remain largely unchartered waters. Undeterred, my pioneering spirit drove me forward. My perseverance paid off. I must say I literally ate my words. I am now an absolute convert to whole grain cake.

This whole grain chocolate cake is possibly the best chocolate cake I've ever had. It is incredibly moist and so decadent, you wont believe it's whole grain. The secret is to use whole grain pastry flour. It made all the difference. I modified a very good old recipe, replacing the bleached ultra fine cake flour completely with organic whole grain pastry flour. I also increased the amount of chocolate and egg. The result was amazing. Since it is whole grain, go ahead and have an extra slice, you'll be getting your fiber. The only thing that will surpass your sense of indulgence is the astonishment that "decadent wholegrain cake" is no longer an oxymoron.

Decadent Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 1/4cups sifted organic whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup butter, softened at room temperature

1 1/4 cup natural brown sugar, lightly packed

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup boiling water

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375. Grease and flour a 9” cake pan.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.

Melt the chocolate and then allow it to cool slightly. Be careful to not allow it to harden.

Beat the butter and sugar for two minutes. Add the eggs and beat for an additional two minutes. Beat in the vanilla and cooled chocolate.

Gradually stir in the sifted flour mixture in approximate thirds, alternating each time with 1/4 cup of the sour cream.

Stir in the boiling water. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 23 minutes. Do not overbake this cake! Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Notes:

If serving this cake to guests, for the ultimate decadence and best presentation, top it with a Chocolate Ganache.